Water-drain for buildings.



- T5 "%Mo v ATTORNEYS F. S. BIEBER'. WATER DRAIN FOB. BUILDINGS. APPLICATION FILED com-.2, 1009.

974,631. Patented N0v.1, 1910.

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F. S. BIEBER. WATER DRAIN FOR BUILDINGS. APPLICATION run 0012. 1909.

Patented Nov. 1,1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. WITNESSES l'momrs n. c ns NORRIS PETERS cm, wAsnma' qw,

FREDERICK S. BIEIBER, OF POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK.

WATER-DRAIN FOR BUILDINGS.

anneal.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 1, 1910.

Application filed October 2, 1909. Serial No. 520,614.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK S. BIEBER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Poughkeepsie, in the county of Dutchess and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved VVater-Drain for Buildings, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a building with a construction whereby an accumulation of water on one floor is prevented from flowing to the stories below, when, in the event of fire, water is introduced into the building at the upper stories; to provide a construction of the character described which can be incorporated in buildings under construction, and applied to old buildings with slight structural changes; to provide devices automatically operated to deflect the water introduced into a building on any particular story from passing to the stories below that at which the water is so introduced, which operation is inaugurated by the fire; to provide a building with devices of the character specified, in such manner as to be unobtrusive; and to provide devices of the character specified which are simple of construction. One embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a vertical section of a building having my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a detail view of a combined water drain and air ventilator constructed in conformity with my invention. Fig. 3 is a detail View of the latch employed in this invention for releasing the doors. Fig. i is a plan view taken from below, of the said latch. Fig. 5 is a vertical section of a frag ment of an old building showing my invention as applied thereto. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a portion of the same.

Before proceeding to a more detailed eX planation of my invention, it should be clearly understood that a building equipped with water drains made and installed in conformity with my invention is practically immune, in case of fire, from excessive damage by water, if the fire be confined to one or more of the upper stories. In many cases if a building be only partly damaged by fire, the damage resulting from the mass of water introduced into the burning portion far exceeds the damage due directly to the fire itself. Especially is this true if the lower stories of the building untouched by the fire, contain valuable merchandise or furnishings. The water introduced into the upper stories fiows down the stairways and other floor openings, to the stories below. My invention provides means for preventing this, and at the same time a drainage for the water.

Each stairway, elevator, or other opening or well has a dam which is provided with a gap so that people can pass up and down the stairway, unimpeded. Movable gates normally held open, serve to close these gaps on the happening of certain events, so that water cannot flow through the said openings. These gates are constructed from any suitable material. They are hinged or mounted in slides, as desired. They may be closely fitted to the openings, or be provided with suitable packing to form a watertight joint about the said opening or gap. Referring more particularly to the drawlngs, A represents the outer wall of a building having my invention applied thereto. The outer wall has windows B of the usual form. The floors C have the stairway 0 enings between which the stairs 14 extend fi'om floor to floor. Each opening has a dam or bulkhead 15 surrounding it and provided at the head of the stairway with a gap 16, so arranged that the stairway passage is not normally obstructed.

A gate 17 is hingedly mounted at one end of each gap and may be of any suitable form. Each gate has a rounded part 21 at the hinge end, to permit it to swing freely. Adjacent to each gap 16 on the structure wall is fixedly mounted a bracket 54, and in the bracket 54 is pivotally mounted a lever 56. On the same pivot is mounted a latch head 40, shaped and arranged to engage the gate 17, when the same is raised into the open position. The latch 40 has a tail piece 40, disposed to extend under the lever 56 in such manner that when the said lever is depressed the tail piece is likewise depressed, raising the head 40, and releasing the gate 17.

The latch 40, above described as bein provided to hold the gate 17 in its raised position, is secured to the structural wall of the building by means of the bracket 54, within which is mounted a suitable spiral spring 55, attached to the tail piece 56 of the said latch. The spring 55 is suitably anchored at 57 to the side wall of the structure. Whenever, in the event of fire, the heat in the room containing the wire or line 41 is sufiicient to fuse the joints or consume the same, the spring 55 operates to draw downward the tail piece 56, raising the latch head 40 and releasing the gate 17. The gate 17 is so poised that it will close by gravity. In instances where this form of structure is not convenient the gate may be provided with a prompting spring adapted to initiate the closing movement of the gate.

The head 40 being pivoted independently, the same may be raised or lowered manually .to release or receive the gate 17. This is desirable to permit the gate to be closed at night, or when the building is to be left vacant. This manual operation does not disturb the set of the automatic devices hereinafter described.

Each gate 17 is held in its open position by the latch 40, which is held in engagement by a wire or suitable line 41, having fusible or inflammable joints 42, said line being stretched across and about the room, chamber or passage in which the gate or gates are located. The heat or flame of a fire causes the wire or line to part, permitting the gates on that floor to close.

At each floor in new buildings I provide a draining device to permit water to flow from the floor and to pass to the outside of the building. The drains are fashioned from metal or other suitable material and which form passages 43 and 44. The outlets may, if so desired, be positioned in recesses at the inside of the wall, extended outward through openings in the lower stories. The outer ends of the outlets may, if desired, extend through the upper sections of suitably located windows. The end extensions have outwardly opening gates 45, 45. The inner ends of the drains are controlled by outwardly opening valves 49. These valves permit water to flow through the outlet, but prevent the outer air from entering through the same and thus carrying dust or cold air, or flames into the building.

The outlets of the drains are divided into passages 43, 44, which extend vertically from the space above the floor in one story downward to open outwardly past the doors 45, 45, through horizontal extensions. Between the horizontal extensions having the doors 45, 45, is provided a channel 46, opening directly into the lower of the two stories mentioned and at or near the ceiling line in the said lower story. This space 46 is suitably screened, as at 47, on the outer side of the building, see Fig. 1, and the channel 1s closed by a gate 48 suitably hinged on the inside of the building. The gate 48 may be operated to open the channel 46, to ventilate the room from which the said channel leads. The gate 49 at the floor line of the upper story, opens outward to yield to the pressure exerted thereon by flooding water.

In buildings which have been erected, a modified form of the invention is to provide an exposed pipe 50 which has openings 51 at the floor line of each story, and is provided at the lower end with a horizontal or inclined outlet 52, which is normally closed by a hinged gate 53 adapted to swing outward. The horizontal or inclined section 52 may, if desired, be extended through the window structure, as shown at- Fig. 5 of the drawings. The pipe 50 may be extended from the lowermost to the uppermost story, it being necessary only to introduce the said pipe through the various floors of the building.

Having thus described my invention, I

.claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: 7

1. The combination with a building having structural floor openings, of bulkheads surrounding said openings and having gaps, gates for closing said gaps and adapted to be held in normally inoperative positions, a line controlling all of said gates in each story, whereby said gates can be simultaneously released in each story, and thermostatic means for controlling said line, said bulk heads being of less height than the distances from the floors to the ceilings of the building.

2. The combination with a building having structural floor openings, of bulkheads surrounding said openings, for preventing the flow of water from story to story through the said openings, and water drains for conducting water from each of said floors to the outside of the building.

3. The combination with a building having structural floor openings, of bulkheads surrounding said openings and having gaps, gates for closing said gaps and adapted to be held normally inoperative, and water drains for permitting the flow of water from each of said floors to the outside of the building.

4. The combination with a building having structural floor openings, of bulkheads surroimding said openlngs to prevent the flow therethrough of water, and water drains comprising short tubes set in the wall of the building and leading to the outside thereof, said tubes being provided with suitable openings at the floor level of the building structure.

5. The combination with a building hav ing structural floor openings, of bulkheads surrounding said openings to prevent the flow therethrough of water, a water drain comprising a tube having an opening therein adapted to be located at the floor line of one story and having a delivery extension leading outside the said building for the drainage of water from the said floor.

6. The combination with a building having structural floor openings adapted to prevent the passage therethrough of water under predetermined depths of, a water drain comprising a tube having a plurality of passages, the upper end whereof is opened into a story of the said building at the floor line thereof, and the lower end whereof is extended to deliver water to the outside of said building near the ceiling line of the lower story, one of said passages opening from the said lower story outward to serve as an air ventilator for said lower story.

7. The combination with a building having structural floor openings adapted to prevent the passage therethrough of water under predetermined depths of, a water drain comprising short tubular casings, adapted to be set in the wall of said building at the level of the floors thereof and adapted to convey the water to the outside of said building.

8. The combination with a building having structural floor openings adapted to prevent the passage therethrough of water under predetermined depths of, a Water drain comprising short tubular casings adapted to be set in the wall of said building at the floor level thereof and adapted to convey the water from the said floor to the outside of said building, and closure devices mounted on said casings to operate inwardly to close the same.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDK S. BIEBER.

Witnesses:

JOHN M. HAM, J OHN A. KELLY. 

